As a kid, I thought it was totally normal to come home from school to the smell of homemade bread. After all, didn't all moms make 10-12 loaves of bread a week? (We had a large family.)
My BFF and I would have tea parties using Kool-Aid, and hot out-of-the-oven, buttered, homemade bread. On a regular basis.
I was a lucky kid .
Now I'm a grown up with some Little Munchkins of my own and I realize what a feat it must have been for my mom to find time to make bread - especially those first 20 years (before she purchased her Bosch Mixer) and had to knead all that dough by hand.
I've adapted her recipe for my 5 quart Kitchen-Aid. Which makes two GIANT loaves.
Mom's Homemade Bread
1 Tbs. Active Dry Yeast (or 1 packet)
3 cups Warm Water
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
2-3 tsp. Salt
5-7 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Dissolve the Sugar into the Water and add the Yeast. Allow the Yeast a minute to activate and foam.
Combine with Oil, Egg, and Salt in Mixer (with Dough Hook). Start mixing on medium speed while adding flour one cup at a time. The amount of flour will vary depending on humidity, the size of your egg, how much liquid you have in your bowl, etc.
Mix/Knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes. Your dough should be soft, not to sticky, and start to form a ball around your dough hook.
Remove the hook from the dough, spray the top with non-stick spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow your dough to rise - double in size (about 30 min-1 hour depending on the temperature of your kitchen).
Once your dough has doubled in sized, punch it down and divide into two equal balls.
Spray the bottom of two glass bread pans w/ non-stick cooking spray and knead your dough into the pan pulling edges to the center. Flip dough over in pan for a nice smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough double in size (again).
Pop these beauties in a 350 degree preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.
Let your loaves cool before cutting. I like to butter the top of my bread (mostly because that's what my mom did). I buttered these while they were really hot, making the butter bubble on top.
Without fail,
every time I make
bread, at some point I find a little
nugget taken out of the
loaf. It's nice to know that my Munchkin
likes and appreciates
homemade bread as much as I d0!
Enjoy!
